


You Just Love to Play the Thought ...

by CookieDoughMe



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Borrowed Titles, BtVS quote, Haven - Fandom - Freeform, M/M, Quotes as Inspiration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 03:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7298260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan thinks about Duke. Or specific bits of him, at least. </p><p>Inspired by one of Spike’s lines to Buffy in the musical episode, Once More with Feeling (“You know, you’ve got a willing slave, And you just love to play the thought, That you might misbehave”). I had that song stuck in my head and it occurred to me that “playing the thought” is exactly what I'm doing here. And so then naturally my thoughts turned to Nathan and Duke ;)<br/>And I really like the idea of using a line from one show as the title and inspiration for something in another fandom. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but hopefully I will have some more up before too long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Just Love to Play the Thought ...

Nathan was trying to be friends with Duke. It meant a lot to Audrey, because she was friends with Duke and she hated to see him and Nathan fight. And Nathan had to admit that Duke had done a lot to help them - a lot to help the town - when he didn't exactly have to. He could have hauled anchor and disappeared into the sunset any time. But he stayed and he helped. And that meant something. 

So, Nathan tried.

But; talking to Duke without shouting or arresting him, without some kind of life or death situation throwing them together, without one of them needing something from the other, was just … confusing. Plenty of times in the past, Duke had looked at Nathan like he wanted to kill him. Or leave him alone with people who would. Or something. But there was something else in those eyes as well, a look that had an altogether different kind of danger to it.

Duke could be intense, that's just how he was. Nathan had seen Duke turn that look on Evi, on Jennifer, even on Audrey - his whole attention focused so tightly it drew the other person into that moment with him; so tightly it created a moment out of nothing. And when Duke looked at Audrey like that, there was a part of Nathan (the jealous, possessive part) that wanted to punch him. But he couldn’t really justify the jealousy. That look might have been intense, but there couldn't be that much behind it, since Duke threw it at him sometimes too.

So Nathan thought he knew how those women felt, when Duke Crocker looked at you like you were the most important thing in his world and it was hard not to believe that you were, just for a moment at least. They were always fleeting, these moments, but they left Nathan with a taste of something he couldn't quite describe. Something that almost defied words and yet which rattled around his head anyway. 

And on quiet days, or when he couldn't sleep, he found himself thinking about those Duke Crocker eyes, crinkling at the edges into a smile bright enough to balance the intensity. He found himself thinking about that voice, deep and soft at the same time. He found himself remembering those lips that spoke to him in a way that had nothing to do with the words they were forming. And Nathan found himself wondering what it would be like to pull those lips to his, to run his fingers through that long dark hair, to press their bodies together as they kissed. 

Part of the appeal in thinking about it lay in his certainty it was something that would never actually happen. Even if he wasn't with Audrey. Even if he could have felt Duke's touch. It was just a fantasy, a thought all the more fascinating because he knew he would never get to find out what the reality was like. 

And that was what made him wonder, what it would be like to kiss those lips, warm skin on his, goatee against his stubble. How it would feel to run his hands down Duke's back, wrap his arms around a body so familiar and so strange, to feel that strong heartbeat under Duke’s chest. Or the feel of that tongue warm and wet against his, wondering how Duke would kiss, what his skin would taste like. Or how it would feel to have those strong hands on his arms, on his back, on his ….

“Wuornos! Are you coming?” Dwight was calling him.  
“Wh…?”  
“Trouble at The Gull.”  
“Right,” said Nathan, dragging himself back to reality.  
“Did you even hear a word I said? It sounds nasty. Audrey’ll meet us there.”

And Nathan pulled himself back to reality and put those questions away; it was a fun thought to play, but it wasn't real. And reality was more important right now.


End file.
